In this podcast, another in a series from the Coffee Talk Chinese archives, Chinese host and Mandarin teacher, Will Xu, talks about how to apologize for being late in Chinese. Co-host and long time student of Mandarin, Lindi, follows along and helps to guide other learners down the path to understanding and speaking Chinese.

Vocabulary:

请坐 Qǐng zuò Please sit down

不好意思 Bù hǎoyìsi My apologies, sorry, excuse me

堵车 Dǔchē Traffic Jam

让 Ràng Made, let

等 Děng Wait

哪里 Nǎlǐ Not at all, no problem

正好 Zhènghǎo Just right, Happen to, Use the moment to

报纸 Bàozhǐ Newspaper

Dialogue：

A：你好。

Nǐ hǎo.

Hello.

B：你好，请坐。

Nǐ hǎo. Qǐng zuò.

Hi. Please have a seat.

A： 不好意思，路上堵车。让你久等了。

Bù hǎoyìsi, Lùshàng dǔchē. Ràng nǐ jiǔ děngle.

So sorry I kept you waiting. Traffic was bad.

B：哪里。我正好可以看一下今天的报纸。

Nǎlǐ. Wǒ zhènghǎo kěyǐ kàn yīxià jīntiān de bàozhǐ.

Not at all. It gave me the chance catch up on today's news.

Supplementary Vocab/Phrases:

甲 Jiǎ Person A

乙 Yǐ Person B

对不起 Duìbùqǐ Sorry

顺口 Shùnkǒu Smooth (of speech)

我正好看见他走出来。Wǒ zhènghǎo kànjiàn tā zǒu chūlái.

I just happened to see him walk out.

让我想一下 Ràng wǒ xiǎng yīxià Let me think for a bit.

让我听一下 Ràng wǒ tīng yīxià Let me listen for a bit.

借口 Jièkǒu

我出来晚了。Wǒ chūlái wǎnle。 I left late.

不好意思，加班。Bù hǎoyìsi, jiābān. So sorry, had to work late.

我起来晚了。 Wǒ qǐlái wǎnle. I got up late.

我碰到了一个人。Wǒ pèng dàole yīgè rén. I ran into someone.

我找不到我的钥匙。Wǒ zhǎo bù dào wǒ de yàoshi.

I couldn't find my keys.

马大哈 Mǎdàhā Careless

Catch My Drift:

A： 你什么时候到？

B：马上就到。

A：好的，我在电影院门口等你。

B：不好意思，让你久等了。出门时找不到钥匙，路上又堵车。

A：哪里。我正好可以看一下电影介绍。